Jackson v. State
Jackson v. State
Opinion
The appellant, William Jackson, was convicted on three counts of distributing a controlled substance, cocaine, in violation of §
The evidence tended to show that on three separate occasions, the appellant furnished cocaine to Jeff Adkinson, an undercover agent for the drug unit of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. The first transaction (count one) took place on February 28, 1989. Agent Adkinson testified that he drove to a residence suggested to him by a confidential informant. Upon Agent Adkinson's arrival at the residence, the appellant approached the agent's vehicle and entered it from the passenger side. The appellant and Agent Adkinson discussed the purchase of an "eight ball" (3.5 grams) of cocaine and agreed on a price of $240.00. The appellant took the money offered by Agent Adkinson and then left the vehicle. He told Agent Adkinson to circle the block and that they would conclude the transaction upon his return. When Agent Adkinson returned after driving around the block, the appellant again entered the vehicle and handed Agent Adkinson a small plastic bag containing three *Page 600 grams of cocaine. This transaction was monitored and tape-recorded by Agent J.D. Davis of the drug unit of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, via a body microphone worn by Agent Adkinson.
The second transaction (count two) between Agent Adkinson and the appellant took place on March 28, 1989, at approximately 5:30 p.m. At this time, Agent Adkinson and a confidential informant went to a different residence to meet the appellant. Agent Adkinson again informed the appellant that he wanted to purchase an eight ball of cocaine. The appellant told Agent Adkinson to wait at the residence while he went for the cocaine. The appellant returned with an individual known as "Pinto" and informed Agent Adkinson that Pinto had the cocaine. Pinto produced 1.5 grams of cocaine for which Agent Adkinson paid $143.00.
The third transaction (count three) also took place on March 28, 1989. Pinto telephoned Agent Adkinson's confidential informant and informed him that he and the appellant had the rest of the eight ball of cocaine requested by Agent Adkinson. At approximately 10:40 p.m., Agent Adkinson met the appellant and Pinto at a gasoline service station. The appellant exited his vehicle and approached Agent Adkinson. The appellant told Agent Adkinson that they should move to another location. He then returned to his vehicle; thereafter, he and Pinto followed Agent Adkinson to another service station located one-half mile away. Once at this location, the appellant parked his vehicle beside Adkinson's vehicle. After a brief discussion, Pinto threw a small plastic bag containing cocaine into Agent Adkinson's vehicle. Agent Adkinson reciprocated by throwing a bundle of bills totaling $225.00 to Pinto through the window of the appellant's vehicle.
The appellant appears to raise five issues on appeal.
This court, in Molina v. State,
The appellant further contends that the trial court erred in allowing this tape recording into evidence because the recording begins in the middle of the conversation between Agent Adkinson and the appellant. Agent Adkinson verified this fact but stated that the tape conversation did accurately depict the "actual transaction." The transcript of the trial contains no claim or suggestion by the appellant that the tape recording, as introduced, was altered in any material way or gave a misleading account of the recorded conversation. SeeUnited States v. Starks,
Also with regard to the tape recording, the appellant argues that the copy of the tape recording provided by the state pursuant to a discovery order did not contain as *Page 601
much of the conversation as did the tape presented at trial. Therefore, the appellant claims on appeal that the State's action violated Brady v. Maryland,
Only those matters which are timely raised and adversely ruled upon at trial are preserved for appellate review.Maul v. State,
Brady,"[T]he suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is material either to the guilt or to punishment, irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the prosecution."
The appellant made no effort to show that the information missing from the tape recording supplied to him during discovery was exculpatory. In fact, it appears from the record that the tape recording which the jury heard was indeed the tape recording provided to the appellant. Also, the only deletions to this tape were those requested by, and granted to, the appellant. Therefore, it is clear from the record that the trial court correctly received the tape recording into evidence.
Agent Davis testified that he measured the distance from the location of the exchange to Grace Baptist School and that, "[t]he distance by road is approximately one point one mile. . . . . As the crow flies it would be much shorter than a mile." The appellant argues that the statute specifically requires a showing that the sale was made within one mile of a school campus. Therefore, he contends that the 1.1 mile distance testified to by Agent Davis was insufficient to support the augmentation of his sentence under §
In analyzing §
However, in the case at hand, the language of the statute is clear on its face and requires no special statutory construction. The essential language of §
The appellant was indicted under §
"(a) A person commits the crime of unlawful distribution of controlled substances if, except as otherwise authorized, he sells, furnishes, gives away, manufactures, delivers or distributes a controlled substance . . ." (emphasis added).
This court has previously held that the term "furnish" means to supply by any means — sale or otherwise. McKissick v. State,
In the case at hand, ample evidence was presented which established the appellant's participation in the sale. Therefore, the trial court correctly denied his motion for judgment of acquittal with regard to count three.
As pointed out by the trial court, those certified copies of appellant's prior convictions — as reproduced in the record — clearly show that he was indeed represented by counsel from arraignment to sentencing. Each of those certified copies shows the appellant's name, the charge of which he was convicted, and that he was represented by counsel. Where these factors have been shown, the convictions were sufficiently proved for enhancement purposes pursuant to the Habitual Felony Offender Act. See Swicegood v. State,
The State contends that this issue was not preserved for our review because the appellant failed to object to his being sentenced under the Habitual Felony Offender Act. We disagree with the State's contention. As we have stated previously, we consider errors in sentencing of this type to be jurisdictional and not subject to waiver. Blair v. State,
In Ex parte Chambers,
Our Supreme Court again addressed this issue in Ex parteBrannon,
Ex parte Brannon,"We note that the Controlled Substances Act has been amended by Acts of Alabama 1987, No. 87-603, the 'Drug Crimes Amendments Act of 1987.' This act repealed §
20-2-70 , the recidivist provision within the Controlled Substances Act, for conduct occurring after the effective date of the act, and it made drug related crimes subject to the Habitual Felony Offender Act."
The Drug Crimes Amendments Act of 1987 is presently found in §
In the present case, we note that the conduct which gave rise to the appellant's conviction occurred on February 28, 1989, and on March 28, 1989. Both of these dates were well after the Drug Crimes Amendments Act of 1987 became effective. Accordingly, we find that the appellant was correctly sentenced pursuant to the Habitual Felony Offender Act.
For the foregoing reasons, this case is due to be, and it is hereby, affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
All the Judges concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- William Jackson v. State.
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- Published